Ivanna Eudora Kean High School senior Kali Merrifield has started ReVearth, his own fashion line with uniquely designed pants for men and women.
“Vearth signifies life,” said Merrifield. “The name ReVearth simply means to give life to something. With the services that this brand provides, I like to think of what I do as bringing life to any pair [of] pants.”
Merrifield said that fashion design was never really at his forefront of choices for a business. Instead, it was something he did leisurely growing up. But now, he decided to turn his craft into a source of revenue.
“The idea of starting a fashion line didn’t initially come to me,” said Merrifield. “I started designing jeans as kind of a hobby and I gradually fell more and more in love with it. With the amount of positive feedback I’d been gettin’ from everyone, I decided that sharing my art with the world would not only benefit me financially but it would also be a way to express myself.”
Merrifield said that all pieces are handmade by him. He drafts his own designs, chooses his fabrics, cuts, and sews all of the pieces together to create his works of art.
“I started sewing early into quarantine when there weren’t really much to do,” said the young designer. “I would say that I’ve seen sewing for at least two to three years.”
Though he has designs for males and females, Merrifield is exclusively designing pants for the time being.
“Right now I am mostly focusing on pants. I do have ideas for T-shirts and other merchandise but that will be more heavily focused on as the brand grows,” said Merrifield.
Merrifield said that he has big goals in store for ReVearth in the future. Hoping to take the brand worldwide, he will continue to build his craft and inspire others along the way.
“I’m dreaming big,” he said. “Not only do I want this brand to be a treasure in the Virgin Islands but I want to expand globally. I would love to share my art with every country and break the limit on expectations. I hope to become not only successful, but someone the coming generations can look up to and feel motivated.”
Merrifield’s first fashion debut occurred at the IEKHS senior Introductory Night. During the showcase, he had his designs modeled by his classmates. ReVearth then made an appearance at the 2023 Miss IEKHS pageant. Most recently, the Career and Technical Education Fair at Emancipation Garden provided another opportunity for the community to see what ReVearth has to offer.
“I do have an upcoming show on March 18th at Kean that I’m really looking forward to. I plan on making it the best one yet,” said Merrifield.
Though he enjoys working on his hobby-turned-business venture, Merrifield admits that there are challenges that accompany his budding entrepreneurship.
“It has been really difficult managing school with ReVearth. Often, there are times when I have to choose between the two. It helps that I’ve created a schedule that makes it slightly easier, but anyone that has ever sewn anything together knows that time flies when you’re behind that sewing machine. Hopefully, this coming summer I can put all my effort into ReVearth and push the business even more,” he said.
After graduating from high school, Merrifield plans on studying marketing as opposed to going to design school. He said that doing so will allow him to learn more of the business aspect of things.
“I would like my creativity to stay as raw and unswayed as possible and I believe that design schools have a way of narrowing the lens of creativity,” said Merrifield.
Merrifield is currently in the process of making his brand an official limited liability company. To inquire about merchandise, a direct message can be sent to ReVearth via Facebook. Emails can also be sent to revearth8@gmail.com. Fans of the brand can stay updated on social media as follows:
Instagram: re.vearth
Snapchat: revearth
Merrifield would like to thank his support team that helped to build his brand, especially Virgil Rightenburg, his fellow schoolmate at IEKHS, who serves as his right-hand man and manager and deals with all matters outside of clothing design.
The next event that ReVearth will be showcased at is Rock City’s Talented Stars. It will be held at IEKHS on March 18 at 5 p.m. General admission tickets are $10 and can be purchased by calling 340-626-9485 or 340-643-4244.
